title: Interleukin-1 alpha (rs1800587) genetic polymorphism is associated with specific cognitive functions but not depression or loneliness in elderly males without dementia.
abstract: Inflammatory process is considered to be a pathway that results in neurodegeneration, and numerous plasma cytokines have been examined for their association with cognitive function and depression. Interleukin-1 alpha (IL-1A) genetic polymorphism (rs1800587) has been found to be associated with Alzheimer's disease susceptibility. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of IL-1A rs1800587 genetic effects on cognitive functions, loneliness and depression severity in elderly males without dementia or major depression. 192 non-demented Chinese elderly male were recruited and underwent Cognitive Abilities Screening Instrument (CASI), Wechsler Digit Span Task, Geriatric Depression Scale-short form, and UCLA Loneliness Scale assessment. IL-1A rs1800587 is a C to T transition at position -889. Compared to the C/C carriers, the T allele carriers had significantly overall higher CASI score (p=0.017) after using age and total education years as co-variates. This was especially true in the four distinct domains of long-term memory (p<0.001), orientation (p=0.017), visual construction (p=0.003), and list-generating fluency (p=0.020). This polymorphism is not associated with Geriatric Depression Scale-short form or UCLA Loneliness Scale. Our data supports that the T allele of IL-1A rs1800587 genetic polymorphism is associated with better cognitive function in the elderly. Further research will be needed to better understand the molecular mechanism for IL-1A genetic effects on cognitive function in the elderly.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Eileen H
authors.initials: EH
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Chen-Jee
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Hong
authors.forename: Heng-Liang
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Yeh
authors.forename: Ying-Jay
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Liou
authors.forename: Albert C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Mu-En
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Shih-Jen
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Tsai
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D044466:Asian People; D003071:Cognition; D003863:Depression / Q000235:genetics* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D056726:Genetic Association Studies; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006801:Humans; D053582:Interleukin-1alpha / Q000235:genetics*; D008132:Loneliness; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide
chemical_list: D053582:Interleukin-1alpha
keywords: AD; Aged; Alzheimer's disease; CASI; CDR; Clinical Dementia Rating Scale; Cognitive Abilities Screening Instrument; Cognitive function; Depression; GDS-SF; Geriatric Depression Scale-short form; IL; Interleukin; Interleukin-1 alpha; Loneliness; MINI; Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview; Polymorphism